The Dog People (The Colter Saga Book 4)

by Joel Baker

  He wasn’t sure why the dogs couldn’t tell he was nearby, but he knew they couldn’t. At first he’d been afraid of the dogs. What they could do wasn’t natural. But then he tested them when no one was around. He would deal with them, just like he would the family, one at a time.

  His stay with the tribes had taught him much. When the Cheyenne took prisoners, they turned them over to the women for torture. It seemed the warriors were always in a hurry and the prisoners died quickly. The women took their time, and could drag out the torture for days. Jonas had learned much from them.

  No, Jonas thought smiling to himself, the men would die quickly. But the Molly, and especially pretty little Shannon, would last for a very, very long time.

  Chapter 12

  It was a hot, July day. Shannon was feeling light headed. In fact, she hadn’t felt well for several days. She was sick to her stomach most of the time. Molly noticed first, and suggested the group stop early in the afternoon. They found a small stream with clear cool water, surrounded by tall trees. The camp was up in no time.

  “James, we need food,” Molly said. “You and the other men need to kill something with enough meat to last a while.”

  “What’s wrong with Shannon?” James asked. “She hasn’t been well most of the trip?”

  “I should have told you earlier,” Molly said. “Shannon is going to have a baby. She needs some substantial food now.”

  Molly could tell from the stunned look on James face, he didn’t know he was going to be a grandpa. His face changed to worried quickly.

  “Are you sure?” James asked. “I mean, of course you’re sure. Should she be riding a horse? Is she alright?”

  “She needs food,” Molly said. “If possible, find something with some fat on it. Your jerky and occasional rabbit just isn’t enough. While you’re gone, I’ll do some gathering in the area. Our medicines are getting thin, and I’ll find some tubers and greens that will do us all good.”

  “I’ll take Dalton and leave Willie and Matthew with you,” James said. We shouldn’t be gone more than a couple of days.”

  “Take Matthew with you too,” Molly said. “Willie can stay here with us. He’s still not a hundred percent. He tries to hide it, but his operation really took a toll.”

  “I’d feel better if Matthew was here with you and Shannon,” James said.

  “Nothing is going to happen,” Molly said. “We’ll be fine. Besides, it’s time for Matthew to do a man’s share, James. Just give him a chance.”

  ***

  The next day the men finished setting up the tents, digging latrines and gathering enough firewood to last four days. They planned on being back in three days. Both Dalton and James were concerned about leaving the women, with only Willie to look out for them. But James knew he had to start including Matthew in these trips. He was a man now, and it was time for James to stop treating him like a kid.

  The campsite was perfect for their needs. The creek fed a small pond very close to where they pitched the tent. Willie caught two small fish. They were delicious pan fried over the open fire. Shannon felt guilty as she devoured both fish. Willie assured her there were more where they came from. Molly reminded the men to kill something with some fat on it. They were rapidly running out of lard, as well.

  Dalton didn’t think they would have far to go before spotting some deer or buffalo. They had traveled over two hundred miles since leaving Oklahoma City. The land had flattened out and was shimmering under the heat of late July on the plains. The wooded area around the creek and pond was an oasis in the arid landscape.

  The dogs returned shortly after the camp was setup. Jezebel told Shannon she would go with Jake when the men left. She felt she and Jake could help the men locate the herds, so they could return quickly. Luther and two of the other dogs would stay with the pups as they hunted for food. After that, the dogs would scout in the direction the group would be traveling, once the men returned.

  The three men left camp, early the next morning. They took one of the pack horses with them. Willie had gone fishing at first light. The women stood and waved, as the men rode out of sight. No one saw the bulky shadow hidden in the trees, watching. He had all the time in the world, so Jonas stayed in place, watching the women as they went about their business for the day.

  ***

  Willie came back to camp at midday. He cleaned the three fish he caught, and laid them on a rock by the cooking fire. They were for the evening meal.

  Shannon was dozing in the tent. A soft breeze caused the flaps on the tents door to move gently. Molly was on a walk in the woods, looking for herbs and greens for tonight’s dinner. Willie picked up his gear and headed back to his fishing spot.

  ***

  Willie had always loved to fish. Even as a small boy. His papa had taken him fishing almost every evening, during the summer. It was their special time together.

  Like all old men, Willie wished he could spend just one more day with his father. He’d ask all the questions, he wished he’d asked, and never got around to asking. He’d fill his papa’s pipe with tobacco, and hold the ember close for the lighting.

  His Papa would lean back against a tree on the bank of the river, and the blue smoke would circle his head. They’d watch the bobbers floating on the end of their fishing lines. They’d watch until the sun lowered, and twilight fought with the gathering darkness.

  When it as almost dusk and the fireflies blinked, they’d collect their fish and poles, and head for home. His mama would use that special corn meal batter and fry the fish to a crispy brown. Willie mouth watered, and he smiled at the remembrance.

  ***

  Willie couldn’t tell you, how he knew someone was behind him. He just knew. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. He glanced over to where his rifle stood propped against the tree next to him. He was pretty sure he’d chambered a cartridge before setting it there. Then, he felt the cold steel from the sharp edge of knife against his neck. Willie felt the sting as his throat was slit. He was surprised it didn’t hurt that much.

  The old man glanced down and saw the mahogany skin of Jonas’s hand on the handle of the knife. He felt the warm gush of blood covering the front of his shirt. Dying is going to be easy, Willie thought, a little surprised. I always thought it would be real hard. I figured it would be all gasping for air and thrashing around.

  Willie glanced over toward the tree where he’d put his rifle. It was gone, but his papa was sitting there, smiling at him. Willie smiled back and thought Papa, am I glad to see you. The man by the tree leaned back, took the pipe from his mouth, and blew a perfect smoke ring into the air. Hey, Willie, the man said. Want to go fishing?

  ***

  Shannon heard the rustling of canvas, as someone entered the tent. She rolled on her back and tried to wake up. She’d been sleeping hard in the hot tent, but was stirred by a noise and a bad dream.

  “Where’s Willie?” Shannon asked, still groggy from her nap. “What time is it?”

  “It’s almost noon,” Molly said, kneeling down by Shannon. “Are you sure the baby is alright? I’m worried about you.”

  “I’m feeling better now,” Shannon said smiling up at her mother. “I just had a bad dream about Willie. It woke me up. Where is Willy?”

  “Fishing, if I know Willie,” Molly said. “If there’s a large puddle, he’ll throw a line into it. He caught some more of those delicious fish. Get up and I’ll fry some up for you.”

  Molly turned quickly and saw a dark shadow moved along the side of the tent.

  “Darn!” Molly said smiling. “It looks like Willie is back, and now we’ll have to share the fish with him.”

  As Molly ducked her head through the tent flap, she looked up at the dark form of Jonas leaning over the entrance to the tent. She saw the clenched fist as it swung towards her jaw. Then there was the dark empty void of unconsciousness.

  ***

  Jezebel and Jake sat looking up at the men on horseback. They’d found the small gro
up of buffalo grazing just over the next rise, and told Matthew. Matthew and Dalton crawled to the top of the rise and saw the bull and three cows grazing about a hundred yards away.

  “Matthew?” Dalton asked. “Can you hit one of the cows from this distance?”

  “Of course I can,” Matthew said.

  “Drop the one that looks the heaviest,” Dalton said. “That’s all we can carry back and we don’t want to waste it.”

  Jezebel and Jake heard the scream at the same time. Both turned and sprinted in the direction of the camp.

  Matthew, something is wrong with Shannon. Jezebel said. We’re going back.

  Matthew told the others. They followed the dogs as they raced towards the camp. It would take the dogs some time to reach Shannon. It would take the men even longer.

  Luther, Jezebel called. Did you hear the scream? We’re not close.

  I’m on my way, Luther said. I am not far from the camp.

  ***

  “Why are you doing this?” Shannon asked. “We’ve been nothing but nice to you.”

  Shannon knew she would have to keep her wits about her, if she was going to survive. She hoped Willie would hear the commotion and sneak back to camp, but didn’t know how far it was to his fishing spot.

  Jonas dragged Molly’s unconscious body over beside the tent, and left it in the dirt.

  “Oh,” Jonas said. “You are certainly a nice family.”

  “Did you kill Molly?” Shannon asked, with a catch in her voice.

  Jonas squatted down beside where Shannon sat, her hands tied behind her back. He looked her over, smiling all the while.

  “Miss Molly, be just fine,” Jonas said in a fake dialect. “Her jaw is busted, I think. I always hit people too hard. She’ll wake up shortly. I’m in no hurry. We have all the time in the world to do whatever we want. I got big plans for you little missy, big plans.”

  “You don’t have to do this, Jonas,” Shannon said, panic slipping into her voice.

  Jonas slapped Shannon so hard on the side of her face; she fell over, blood trickling from her nose.

  “Don’t you ever tell Jonas what he can do,” Jonas said in a threatening whisper. “I was going to do old Molly first, but you keep talking. I might have to let you go first.”

  Jonas grabbed Shannon by the hair and pulled her upright. Her ears rang from the slap, and she tasted the salty blood in her mouth. Shannon heard Molly groan as she started to regain consciousness.

  Molly tried to push herself up, unsure of what was going on. Jonas stood and walked over to where she struggled to her hands and knees. He put a boot on her bottom and gave her a shove. Molly collapsed forward face first into the dirt.

  Shannon watched as Jonas dragged Molly closer to the fire. She could see that Molly’s face was swollen and bruised, but she didn’t think her jaw was broken. Molly lay face up by the fire, as Jonas knelt over her an ugly look on his face.

  Shannon strained to look around, to see if she could see Willie anywhere. Jonas saw her, and laughed.

  “Old Willie,” Jonas said. “He won’t be coming back anytime soon. As they used to say, Willie is sleeping with the fishes.”

  Jonas laughed loudly as he reached over and took his large knife out of the coals of the fire pit. He looked closely at the blade that glowed red in the noon day sun. He spit on the blade and it sizzled.

  “Funny thing about old Willie,” Jonas said turning back to Shannon. “I cut his throat clean as a whistle. Then I sat and watched him die. It took quite a while for him to bleed out. I watched as the light went out of his eyes, and you know what?”

  Shannon, now crying softly, shook her head no. Jonas looked back at his knife and then down at Molly.

  “Old Willie smiled as he was dying,” Jonas said quietly. “He smiled the whole time. It was like he saw something, he hadn’t seen in a long, long time.”

  Jonas looked up in the air for a moment, thinking about Willie’s smile. He finally shook his head when he heard Molly groan. He turned back to where Molly lay in the dirt in front of him. The knife blade, still glowing red hot, lowered towards Molly’s face.

  “Well, enough of that,” Jonas said, smiling. “Who besides me wants to have some fun?”

  Chapter 13

  Luther sat watching the large man they called Jonas. He was kneeling beside Molly. Luther had arrived only minutes before and saw Jonas strike Shannon across the face. Luther wasn’t sure what he should do.

  He’d always had a problem with the Colters, but not for any reason anyone could guess. Luther was older than either Jake or Jezebel. Yet because of their youth, they were bonded with Matthew and Shannon. They became first among equals.

  It bothered him, so Luther had stayed away from the humans, as much as possible. All the dogs knew he was uncomfortable around the Colters. None knew why. Luther couldn’t explain how or why it happened.

  Then one day he realized, he was drawn to Shannon. Yet she had bonded already with Jezebel. There was nothing he could do. Her thoughts were like music, and he felt drawn to her constantly. All he could do is stay as far away, as possible. But it hurt his soul.

  Now Luther sat and watched as the Jonas appeared angry with the two women. It pained Luther to see Shannon bleeding and helpless. He knew both Jezebel and Jake were racing toward this place, as fast as they could. They wouldn’t make it in time to save Molly. Maybe they would be in time to save Shannon. Luther sat and watched.

  Shannon watched the scene in front of her, with growing horror. This shouldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t be happening. She struggled with the ropes tying her hands behind her back. It was no use. She watched as Jonas lowered the blade of his knife towards Molly’s face. From deep within her, Shannon felt a primal scream rise from her inner depth.

  “NOOOOOOOoooooooooooo…” she screamed. At the same time, the psychic scream rippled through the air causing Luther to instinctively charge directly at Jonas. Luther was the largest of the Colter dogs. He was also their most experienced killer. Still, Jonas, unnerved by the scream from Shannon, saw the dog charging and braced himself to take the full weight of the massive dog on his knife.

  Luther gathered himself for a jump, but swerved to the left at the last moment. The dog planted his left legs, leaned to the right, and snagged the Achilles’ tendon of Jonas’s right heel with his teeth. He’d done it a hundred times to bring down horse, deer, and buffalo. He felt the tendon snap, and tasted the blood pouring from the torn back of Jonas’ leg.

  Instinctively, Jonas swiped down with his right hand and stabbed Luther in the back, just behind his ribs. The dog slid to a stop in the dirt. Jonas had fallen to the ground and was holding the back of leg as blood gushed from between his fingers.

  Luther knew something was wrong. It was something more than just the pain in his side. He tried to stand but his back legs wouldn’t move. His back legs were paralyzed.

  ***

  Jezebel and Jake raced across the plains knowing they would be too late, but trying none the less. Shannon’s scream had shocked them both to their core. They were closing on the camp site, but were still ten minutes away. Then they felt the pain of Luther, as he skidded in the dirt. They knew he had shredded the attacker’s leg, but had been hurt in return. All they could do was run.

  ***

  Molly came awake and looked up into the madness of Jonas. It was then she saw the black shadow flash by her. She thought back to a day years ago when she’d been pinned to the ground, and another Colter dog named Samson, had saved her life. She saw the sunlight flash on the moving blade of Jonas’s knife as it stuck in the back of the dog.

  At first she thought it was Jezebel or Jake, but saw the dog was larger than either of them. She knew it must be Luther. But what was Luther doing here? The high pitched scream of pain from Jonas surprised Molly as the dog hooked and ripped the tendon from the back of his leg. Both dog and man fell to the ground, neither capable of rising.

  Molly sat up, as Jonas began to crawl towards
where Luther lay on his side in the dirt. The hilt of the knife stuck out of the back of the dog. She finally realized Jonas was going for the knife to finish them off.

  Molly scrambled over to the tent, and pulled a rifle from under the pile of clothes and blankets, in the corner of the tent. She raised the rifle, aiming at Jonas’s massive back. She pulled the trigger and heard the click of an empty chamber.

  Jonas reached the side of Luther and grabbed for the hilt of his knife. Luther waited until he’d almost grasped it, before making his move. Like the strike of a snake, Luther turned his upper body and ripped the artery from the side of Jonas’s throat. Luther felt the warmth of the man’s blood spreading over his damaged back. Jonas was dead before his head hit the ground.

  ***

  Molly ran to Luther and saw that the knife had severed his spine. His back legs were useless. The dog was stoic as Molly pulled the knife from his back. The searing heat of the knife blade had cauterized the wound. He lay there panting trying to weather the pulsing pain from his back.

  Molly went quickly over to Shannon, and cut the ropes from her wrists. Shannon sat there with her hands covering her face. She cried tears of sadness and joy, sorrow and relief, all at the same time. Molly looked back at Luther and saw he was dragging himself with his front legs, toward Shannon. The dog’s useless back legs left a trail in the sand.

  Finally Luther crawled to where Shannon knelt crying softly. The massive dog laid his large head in her lap. He whimpered several times, as Shannon’s teardrops landed on the side of his face. With a strained effort, Luther lifted his head a final time, and licked the tears from Shannon’s cheeks. With that, he laid his head back in her lap and died.

  ***

  Jezebel and Jake walked slowly into camp. They knew what had happened to the very instance that Luther died. They came and lay on each side of Shannon as she sat and stroked Luther’ face with her hands. Molly left them alone as she went and got cool water to soak the side of her jaw.